1949 Argentine Primera División

Primera División
Racing Club, champion
Season1949
ChampionsRacing (10th title)
PromotedAtlanta
Ferro Carril Oeste
RelegatedLanús
Top goalscorerArgentina Juan José Pizzuti
Argentina Llamil Simes (26 goals each)
← 1948
1950 →

The 1949 Argentine Primera División was the 58th season of top-flight football in Argentina. The season began on April 24 and ended on February 16, 1950.[1]

Atlanta and Ferro Carril Oeste returned to Primera, while Lanús was relegated. Racing won its 10th league title.

For the first time, the AFA established as mandatory the use of squad numbers for Primera División matches. Displayed on players' backs, shirts had to be numbered from 2 to 11 so this rule was not mandatory for goalkeepers. The system entered into force since the 9th fixture on June 26.[2][3]

Relegation system had been established in Argentina in 1937, when it was ruled that the worst placed teams would be relegated to Second Division.[4] Due to the 1948 players' strike demanding better working conditions, relegations were suspended until the conflict was solved.[5] As the championship continued normally and the Ministery of Labour ruled the maximum salary for football players would be mn$ 1,500,[3] several players emigrated in search of better oportunities, most to Colombia which was not affiliated to FIFA by then. Some of the most notable footballers that emigrated were Adolfo Pedernera, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Pipo Rossi, Antonio Sastre, René Pontoni, and Julio Cozzi.[6][7]

Relegations came back for the 1949 season, with only one team to be relegated. Nevertheless, few weeks before the championship ended, the AFA established that in case of Boca Juniors (which made the worst performance in the club's history)[8]or Huracán finished in the last position, relegations would be annulled. This decision was based on the poor campaign of both teams in the tournament.[9] In the last fixture, Boca beat Lanús 5–1 and could avoid relegation. As Huracán defeating arch-rival Banfield 1–0,[3] Lanús and Huracán finished in the last position, with 26 points each. As goal difference did not count, they had to play a series to define which team would be relegated to the Second Division.[7][1]

League standings

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Racing 34 21 7 6 87 47 +40 49 Champions
2 River Plate 34 18 7 9 71 36 +35 43 Runner-up playoff (W)
2 Platense 34 16 11 7 68 48 +20 43 Runner-up playoff (L)
4 San Lorenzo 34 17 8 9 72 62 +10 42
5 Newell's Old Boys 34 15 11 8 61 50 +11 41
6 Estudiantes (LP) 34 13 12 9 53 54 −1 38
7 Vélez Sársfield 34 15 5 14 49 52 −3 35
8 Chacarita Juniors 34 14 5 15 57 61 −4 33
8 Independiente 34 12 9 13 65 72 −7 33
10 Banfield 34 11 10 13 70 77 −7 32
11 Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) 34 11 8 15 54 58 −4 30
12 Rosario Central 34 12 5 17 62 67 −5 29
12 Ferro Carril Oeste 34 10 9 15 47 59 −12 29
12 Atlanta 34 14 1 19 48 64 −16 29
15 Boca Juniors 34 10 7 17 52 58 −6 27
15 Tigre 34 9 9 16 52 68 −16 27
17 Huracán 34 9 8 17 47 57 −10 26 Relegation playoff (W)
17 Lanús 34 9 8 17 59 84 −25 26 Relegation playoff (L)
Source: [1]

Runner-up playoff

[edit]

Both River Plate and Platense finished 2nd. with 43 points and played a two-legged series to define the runners-up, in neutral venue.

First leg

[edit]
Platense1–2River Plate
Báez Report Labruna
Coll
Referee: Charles Dean (England)

Second leg

[edit]
River Plate4–0Platense
Labruna
Fizel
Ramos 		Report
Referee: Orlando Ruggiero

Relegation series

[edit]

As Huracán and Lanús finished both in the last position, a two-legged series in neutral venues (no goal difference allowed) were conducted to define which team would be relegated.

First leg

[edit]
Huracán1–0Lanús
Vigo 60' Report 1
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Harry Hartless

Second leg

[edit]
Lanús4–1Huracán
Martínez 24', 51'
Contreras 85'
Daponte 87'		 Report 1 Trejo 17'
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Charles Dean (England)

Playoff

[edit]
Huracán3–3
extra time not held		Lanús
Vigo 40'
Filgueiras 41'
Lanza 48'		 Report Pairoux 13', 33', 77'
Attendance: 65,000
Referee: Bert Cross (England)

Note: Huracán players left the field at 90', therefore extra time not played. The AFA supported Huracán, alleging that the referee did not known the regulations. The match was annulled and a rematch scheduled to define relegation.

With 2' remaining, Vigo scored the 4th. goal for Huracán, but refereee Bert Cross annulled it after an indication by assistant Parker. Following that, the Huracán players left the field in disagreemnt with the decision. As they refused to come back to the field, Cross finished the match, and the extra time could not be carried out. Huracán players alleged they were waiting for the overtime in the dressing room until they heard the match had been suspended. On the other hand, Lanús requested the AFA they were declared winners according to rules. Nevertheless, on January 12 the association stated it was the referee who had been finished the match on his own therefore no punishment for Huracán players was conducted. The body also stated that Cross was not aware of the rules in case of the tie, and that was the reason he finished the game. As a result, a fourth match would be scheduled to define which team would be relegated. In case of a tie, two extra times of 30' each would be played.[10]

Playoff rematch

[edit]
Huracán3–2Lanús
Trejo 34', 40'
Martínez 79'		 Report Lacasia 19'
Pairoux 37' (p)
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Wally Muller (Austria)

Note: Abandoned at 80', score stood. Huracán won the series 4–2 on points, therefore Lanús was relegated.

When the referee awarded Huracán a penalty kick after a doubtful foul, the Lanús players did not allow Huracán make the kick. The referee decided to suspend the match with 10' remaining. The AFA's Disciplinary Court ruled in favour of C.A. Huracán, declaring them winners of the series so Lanús was relegated to Primera B.[11][12] Unlike the previous match, rules were strictly followed and Lanús lost points due to their players abandoned the field.[1]

Aftermath

[edit]

Due to its irregularities, the event has been defined as "... one more immorality in the long series of shameful events that the history of Argentine football contains".[13][14], and "shameful",[15] highlighting the controversial decisions from AFA's Disciplinary Court, using adjectives like "outrageous" to define it.[11]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Argentina 1949 by Osvaldo Gorgazzi at RSSSF.com
  2. ^ Así nació la tradición de usar números en las camisetas by Gustavo Farías on La Voz del Interior, 22 Aug 2013
  3. ^ a b c Historia del fútbol argentino, por Juvenal. Capítulo X (1946–1950), El Gráfico, 12 Nov 2019
  4. ^ Ni sorpresa ni asombro, más de lo mismo en el fútbol argentino by Alejandro Fabbri on his website
  5. ^ A 75 años de la huelga más larga de la historia del fútbol argentino, Clarín, 2024
  6. ^ HISTORIA DEL FÚTBOL. La huelga de futbolistas de 1948 by Raúl Mario Herrera on La Izquierda Diario, 24 Feb 2015
  7. ^ a b "Argentina: 1ra. División AFA 1949" by José Carluccio on Historia y Fútbol, 9 May 2009website,
  8. ^ Campeonato 1949 on Historia de Boca.com.ar
  9. ^ Otra reforma y esta vez, un cambio para el Guinness on Clarín, 21 Dec 2021
  10. ^ "Descenso 1949, Huracán v. Lanús", 5 Sep 2014
  11. ^ a b Historias Inconfesables: El descenso de Lanús en 1950 by Carlos Aira on Abrí la Cancha, 13 May 2016
  12. ^ Los Globetrotters on lanus.com.ar
  13. ^ Historias Negras Del Futbol Argentino by Alejandro Fabbri, Capital Intelectual Ediciones, published Apr 2008 – ISBN 9789876140584
  14. ^ La increíble historia del primer despojo que sufrió Lanús by Marcelo Calvente on La Defensa Digital, 21 Apr 2020
  15. ^ El día en que la AFA "falló" a favor de Huracán on Perfil, 17 Jul 2009
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1949_Argentine_Primera_División&oldid=1256048143"